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  Credit worthiness rating methodUSPTO Application #: 20060233332Title: Credit worthiness rating method Abstract: A method of providing a credit worthiness rating, and systems and computer programs configured to enable the method, are disclosed. An identifier of an electronic device is received, and information is associated with the identifier. A credit worthiness rating is then determined, the rating based on the information associated with the received identifier. The information may include one or more of information relating to payments made for services supplied to the telephone or the user or users of the telephone, information relating to the usage of the telephone, and/or information relating to transactions or payments made using the telephone. (end of abstract) Agent: Foley Hoag, LLP Patent Group, World Trade Center West - Boston, MA, US Inventor: Alvin David Toms USPTO Applicaton #: 20060233332 - Class: 379114200 (USPTO) Related Patent Categories: Telephonic Communications, With Usage Measurement (e.g., Call Or Traffic Register), Call Charge Metering Or Monitoring, Calling Card, Pre-paid Calling Account Or Card The Patent Description & Claims data below is from USPTO Patent Application 20060233332. Brief Patent Description - Full Patent Description - Patent Application Claims
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION [0001] The present application is related to Australian Provision Application No. ______, which was filed on Mar. 24, 2005 by Alvin David Toms for "A Credit Worthiness Rating Method" and is hereby incorporated by reference. FIELD OF INVENTION [0002] The present invention relates to rating the credit worthiness of an applicant for credit. BACKGROUND [0003] Bad debt is a serious problem for credit providers including providers such as telecommunications network operators because payments for the services they supply are often made in arrears. This means that the operators are effectively lending their customers money to the value of the services they use in each bill cycle. Since this lending is unsecured, there is a natural tendency for customers who run up unmanageable debts to fail to make payment, thereby leaving the network operator with little chance of recovering the money they are owed and no choice but to bar the offenders from their network. [0004] Once barred, bad debtors will frequently reapply to the same operator in the hope of regaining access to their network. Simple checks on the names or social security numbers of applicants against those of previous bad debtors have proved effective in identifying many potential repeat offenders. There are many simple ways to overcome such measures, however, such as reapplying in the name of a friend or family member, using a fake or stolen identity, or obfuscating an identity by deliberate misspelling. [0005] For example, bad debtors may reapply using slight misspellings of the names they have previously used that are enough to evade automatic checks that are designed to uncover their payment histories but not so great that postal correspondence relating to the services they obtain are unable to reach them. Attempts to develop automated systems to detect such obfuscation have so far met with limited success because of the time complexity of performing the approximate matches that are required and the large number of false matches that usually result. [0006] It should be noted that the ease with which bad debtors can apply for services using new identities is greater than expected because many bad debtors are not single individuals but are more or less tightly connected groups of individuals such as families or housemates. The phrase `bad debtors` is therefore used not in the narrow sense of the single individual whose name happened to be associated with an account that went into debt but in the broader sense of the group of individuals who were associated with the debt. [0007] It is in identifying such groups that the traditional approach of associating credit information with particular individuals' identities is inadequate because a group of bad debtors has several identities that it can use to repeatedly re-access sources of credit before they can be reliably identified. BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION [0008] According to one aspect of the invention there is provided a method of providing a credit worthiness rating, the method comprising: [0009] receiving an identifier of an electronic device, wherein information is associated with the identifier; and [0010] determining a credit worthiness rating based on the information associated with the received identifier. [0011] According to another aspect of the invention there is a method of providing a credit worthiness rating comprising: [0012] receiving an identifier of an electronic device, wherein the identifier is associated with a service provided in relation to the electronic device; and [0013] determining a credit worthiness rating based on information associated with the received identifier. [0014] Usually the service is provided in return for one or more payments. Typically the electronic device is a telephone and the identifier is the telephone number of the telephone. The service may be access to a telecommunications network. [0015] In one embodiment the credit worthiness rating is also based on additional information that is not associated with any specific identifier. [0016] According to another aspect of the invention there is a method of providing a credit worthiness rating comprising: [0017] receiving a telephone number; and [0018] determining a credit worthiness rating based on information associated with the telephone number. [0019] Preferably the information associated with the telephone number is data on the use of the telephone and/or data on the payment behaviour for provision of the telephone service, and/or services supplied to the telephone, and/or transactions or payments made using the telephone. [0020] According to a further aspect of the invention there is a method of providing a credit worthiness rating and verifying the identity of a credit applicant comprising: [0021] receiving a telephone number and identifying information of the credit applicant; [0022] determining a credit worthiness rating of the credit applicant based on information associated with the telephone number; and [0023] verifying the identifying information using the received telephone number. [0024] In one embodiment the credit applicant's identity details are compared to the telephone subscriber's identity details. [0025] In a further embodiment, the credit applicant's identity details and the telephone subscriber's identity details are encoded prior to comparison using a non-invertible encoding. [0026] In one embodiment the identity details are subject to normalisation procedures prior to comparison or encoding. [0027] In one embodiment a user of the telephone is contacted to verify that they approve of a credit assessment being performed against their telephone number. [0028] In one embodiment a user of the telephone is contacted to verify that they are aware that a credit assessment is being performed against their telephone. [0029] In one embodiment a user of the telephone is contacted to verify that they are the person who is applying for credit. Continue reading... Full patent description for Credit worthiness rating method Brief Patent Description - Full Patent Description - Patent Application Claims Click on the above for other options relating to this Credit worthiness rating method patent application. ###  How KEYWORD MONITOR works... a FREE service from FreshPatents1. Sign up (takes 30 seconds). 2. Fill in the keywords to be monitored. 3. Each week you receive an email with patent applications related to your keywords. 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